“Hamlet is one of the greatest plays ever written, and it’s always relevant,” said founder and artistic director Neil McGarry of Marshfield. “It’s our way of saying we’re not afraid of tackling big material.”

McGarry, a Barnstable High School graduate who trained at the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York, wants South Shore residents to have classic theater and training close to home.

In addition to producing Shakespeare and other plays, McGarry plans to offer theater programs for youth and adults. Creative Associate Ross MacDonald of Braintree, an Equity actor who also served in the British Army Reserve in Afghanistan in 2007, will develop a program specifically for veterans.

“There’s a huge gap on the South Shore which we hope to fill,” said MacDonald, who moved to the United States in 2008 when he married Allison MacDonald, who now chairs the English department at Boston College High School.

“I have a passion for theater, and my life has changed for the better because of it,” Ross MacDonald said. “The company isn’t just a vehicle for (providing actors) work, but we’re trying to create something that will mean a lot more.”

As the YMCA’s professional theater company in residence, Bay Colony Shakespeare will have use of the state-of-the-art indoor theater and classrooms at Laura’s Center for the Arts, which is a separate building on the grounds of the Emilson YMCA. The center, opened in 2010 for summer use, was finished in January after the installation of bathrooms and heat.

“Most YMCAs have some sort of connection with the arts, but it is very rare to have these kinds of resources,” said Kimberly LaCroix, senior director of fine and performing arts at the Emilson YMCA. “It’s a really cool, unique facility that allows us to expand our programs in the arts.”

In a collaboration beneficial to both institutions, the Bay Colony Theatre Company will pay no rental fee but will donate 25 percent of its ticket receipts to the YMCA’s programs in the arts.

McGarry, an Equity actor who recently produced and starred in the one-man play “Burbage,” has been an actor for 30 years and has performed in 17 Shakespeare plays.

“This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” said McGarry, who will play Hamlet. “Theater is a wonderful thing. It gives great gifts. It sounds Pollyannaish, but I want our company to be a force for good on the South Shore.”